Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) Position Lessened by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,138,103 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 619,743 shares during the quarter. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing comprises 0.7% of Clearbridge Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing were worth $817,234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 16.51% of the company’s stock.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Performance

Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing stock opened at $165.82 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $860.00 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.13. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited has a 12 month low of $125.78 and a 12 month high of $226.40.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The semiconductor company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.08. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a return on equity of 30.47% and a net margin of 40.51%. On average, research analysts predict that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited will post 9.2 EPS for the current year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.6855 per share. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 12th. This is a boost from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio is 30.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.00.

About Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and internationally. It provides a range of wafer fabrication processes, including processes to manufacture complementary metal- oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) logic, mixed-signal, radio frequency, embedded memory, bipolar CMOS mixed-signal, and others.